The rise of the visible CEO: why hiding is hurting your company
There’s a fundamental shift happening right now in the world of founder-led businesses and the gap is widening. Some companies feel alive, connected and moving. Others feel flat and motionless. And this time it’s not about who has the best sales strategy or the most funding. It’s about whether anyone can really see the person running the show.
Founders who show up, talk and act like human beings instead of corporate robots, and let people in, are building serious momentum. In contrast, the ones who hide behind their company logo are starting to fight an uphill battle for talent, trust, and traction.
The age of the visible CEO is here.
Trust in leadership is down. The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer says trust in CEOs keeps dropping. However, trust in co-workers is up. People believe what’s close, what’s real and what they can see. If you’re invisible as a founder, you’re not protecting the business brand, you’re creating uncertainty, and you’re hurting your personal brand.
This isn’t just one industry, either. It’s everywhere, across almost every sector. Visible founders win business, whilst hidden founders fight for it.
Gen Z is rewriting the rules as they rise through the ranks. They don’t want old-school leadership. They want purpose, passion and meaning in their work and the companies they work for, not hierarchy. They want leaders who are transparent, emotionally switched-on, and visible. Unlike the Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers, they don’t trust authority just because it’s there. They want to see it, hear it, test it and believe in it.
“If you rarely communicate as a leader, if you rarely show up, rarely explain, then Gen Z doesn’t see modesty, ” says Libby Crossland, co-founder & director of The Leadership Visibility Co., “they see absence or inconsistency. Or worse, indifference. They want to know who they’re working for and why they should believe in you. If they can’t, you’ll lose that talent to competitor whose founder is doing the right things and showing up in the right places.”
“Founders obsess over looking polished and professional,” continues Crossland, “but that’s not what people want from you. They just want to know who’s actually running things. If nobody ever hears from you or gets a sense of how you think, they’ll fill the gaps themselves and those assumptions are rarely kind.”
People want accountability and honesty. They want to see the human behind the job title.
Founder invisibility isn’t just hurting the founder either. It’s showing up in accounts and bottom lines. Hiring the right talent can take longer, retention becomes uncertain and new business slows down because prospects ‘can’t get a read on the leadership.’ Partners hesitate, teams second-guess, a culture gets vague and transactional.
Suzie Thompson, co-founder of The Leadership Visibility Co., adds: “It’s not that the founder is messing up, it’s just that nobody knows what’s going on. If you only communicate when there’s a product launch or a crisis, you’re creating distance. That used to be fine in the old style of leadership but now it’s a major problem for your business.”
Visibility isn’t about posting motivational quotes or polishing your personal brand, it’s about letting people see how you think and what you value. The leaders who do this well are clear on their message and everyone who notices them, understands what they stand for.
These leaders give context. They talk about challenges without turning it into theatre. They share what they’re learning, openly and vulnerably. They communicate before things go wrong. They show up regularly, not just for the big announcements.
This type of plain sight leadership builds trust you can’t fake.
Thompson adds: “I always say the same thing to clients: when you’re present and you communicate regularly, people feel anchored. You need to be visible enough that your team and your market know who they’re dealing with.”
If people can see you, they can understand you. If they understand you, they can trust you. If they trust you, they’ll follow you through the mess as well as the wins.